Jenny Halpern

Life to me is random and ambiguous, like a series of unpredictable events and chance encounters. Its purpose is undefined, creating an underlying, unsettling feeling. By discarding the representational and re-imagining the rational, I come to terms with my unrest.

In my work, intuition, as opposed to strict analytical intelligence, is indispensable to experiencing and understanding the world. It helps me through the commotion of life and captures the nervous energy that exists in everyday circumstances.

My subjects are studies of nature. I like to see how it can affect and reflect our states of mind. I draw inspiration from natural elements—flowers, leaves, rain and sunlight—and abstract their interactions with the air or on the ground to reveal the latent agitation behind those banal moments.

My painting approach is free and instinctual, often establishing a base color and then burying it or building upon it, adding and layering colors, or subtracting paint by scraping it away. My marks range from fluid trails to frenzied gestures. I repeat this process until the emotion reveals itself.